Do you think you have Native American ancestry? Curious about DNA testing and what that means with respect to Native identity? Here are my thoughts on that subject.
Bryan D. Jackson is an Eastern Cherokee successor. He is a registered descendant in the First Families of the Cherokee Nation (Sonicooie) and the First Families of the Twin Territories (Indian Territory). He is a member of the Mt. Hood Cherokees in the Pacific Northwest. He is also a multi-chapter member of the Trail of Tears Association, and a member of the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers & Storytellers. He graduated from Pfeiffer College (now Pfeiffer University) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. His postgraduate work includes two years' advanced Clinical Pastoral Education in two different Level 1 Trauma Centers, and Bowen family systems theory at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family (Georgetown Family Center) in Washington, DC.
Documented Cherokee Lineage
"Susannah" Sonicooie (Cordery) Reservation Roll, 1817 Eastern Cherokee
Sarah Cordery (Rogers) [m. John Rogers, Jr., Reservation Roll 1817, Henderson Roll, 1835] Eastern Cherokees
Ann Chappell Rogers (Lenoir) Siler Roll, 1851; Chapman Roll, 1852; Hester Roll, 1883; Dawes Roll, 1900 Eastern Cherokee, migrated to Indian Territory (later Oklahoma)
Emma Elizabeth Lenoir (Roberts) Hester Roll, 1883 Eastern Cherokee
Estelle Corinne Roberts (Wiggins) Guion Miller Roll, 1909 Eastern Cherokee
Aileen Wiggins (Jackson) (Farrell) Cherokee descendant, Swain County, N.C.
Walter Coburn Jackson Cherokee descendant, Swain County, N.C.
Bryan Douglas Jackson, First Families of the Cherokee Nation, Mt. Hood Cherokees
ROGERS FAMILY The John Rogers, Jr. family was prominent in the old Cherokee Nation. John and his wife, Sarah, raised twelve children, and a number of them played important roles in Cherokee Nation and United States history. The Rogers house still stands today in Johns Creek, Georgia, near the Chattahoochee River. The famous early twentieth century humorist and Cherokee Nation citizen, Will Rogers, an extended family member, visited the home in his travels. The Rogers family can be found on page 391 of Emmet Starr’s History of the Cherokee Indians.
TSALI In addition to my Cherokee ancestors, I also had ancestors who were not Cherokee but great supporters of the Cherokees. Another great, great, great-grandfather, Abraham Wiggins, Jr., and his wife, Margaret, fed their Cherokee friend, Tsali (Sol-lee, known to the whites as “Charley”) his last meal before his notorious execution. Tsali became a famous Cherokee martyr and his story is told to this day in annual summer outdoor drama, “Unto These Hills,” in Cherokee, North Carolina. I am currently working on a story about the Wiggins family and their relationship with Tsali in the period before his execution. Stay tuned!
This page is dedicated in loving memory of my friend, Don L. Shadburn (1939-2015)
My great, great, great aunt, Mary Rogers McNair, traveled the Cherokee Trail of Tears with her family in the Bell Detachment. My grandmother first told me about Mary when I was a teen. I later verified the story through research. The Trail of Tears is one of the most tragic events in Cherokee and United States history. You can read about it here.
